Captain and Commander
by MapleRose
Summary: Collection of Mwu La Flaga and Murrue Ramius oneshots and drabbles, within the GS canon.
1. Actions

Author's Notes: Welcome to _Captain and Commander_, my second collection of MwuxMurrue oneshots and drabbles. The previous MxM oneshots/drabbles can be found in _Promise Me. _Reviews are welcome!

* * *

**Title/theme: **ACTIONS **  
Genre: **Angst **  
Summary: **_Actions speak louder than words. _

---

"I love you"

He never did say those words out loud. Maybe she heard them in a faint whisper in her hair in the middle of the night, or saw them in the twinkle of his eye when he came to visit, or perhaps felt them in the gentle breath of his kiss. But never out in the open, where she could hear him clearly.

And she was surprised. Did she expect to hear him say it? Perhaps, perhaps not. She wasn't sure what to expect. But more often than not, Mwu la Flaga did seem to be a man who let his actions speak for him.

As she stared at the blinding light in front of the bridge and pieces of debris flying everywhere, it was as if he finally said them, loud and clear. As if he shouted those words at the top of his lungs.

Yet, she couldn't stop the tears, or the pain of her heart breaking into pieces like the debris.

* * *


	2. Report

**Title/theme: **REPORT **  
Genre: **General  
**Summary: **_There were so many other things she would rather do._

Murrue Ramius stared at the stack of paper in front of her, then shifted her gaze to her laptop, where the blank page of a word-processing document stared back at her, blinking its cursor as if begging her to do something.

She groaned and ran a hand through her hair, and looked back to the stack of paper again.

She had been sitting there for an hour, trying to get started on the report, but she just didn't feel like doing it. It was due in a few days, and she had barely started. Two paragraphs were all she had managed between coffee breaks, nap breaks, washroom breaks, and snack breaks.

Absent-mindedly, she flipped through the stack of data on her desk. She knew she had responsibilities and she couldn't escape them. And she knew that would finish the report eventually, one way or another – such as staying up late the night before, not a good idea she knew, but sometimes these things just happen. But it was just, so dry, and boring, to try to make raw data look interesting and understandable, and to squeeze out something that sounds professional at the same time.

There were so many other things she would rather do. For one…

Just as she was thinking about it, the door slid open, and in poked his head.

"Hi, you busy?"

She looked at the paperwork in mild distaste. "No, come in."

Without being asked twice, he stepped into her office. With a few long strides, he made his way beside her. Leaning over her shoulder, he peered at the blank computer screen with its blinking cursor.

"Wha'cha doing?"

"Something I'd rather not do," she admitted, groaning, and slumped forwards on the desk.

"Aww…" Taking the opportunity, he rubbed her shoulders and back. "Are you bored?"

"Yes," came the mumbled answer.

"Well," he came to her side, and his hand gently cupped her chin so that she was facing him. "I know what we can do to relieve your boredom."

She thought she saw him wink, and caught a mischievous glint in his eyes. She swallowed.

"What?"

"Hmm," his face inched closer, "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Um, yes?" she could feel her heart beat faster, was it because of the suspense, or his close proximity?

"Why don't we," his voice lowered to a whisper, "Go…" his face was so close that she could feel his breaths.

He kissed the bridge of her nose. "…take a walk."

Before she had time to open her eyes, he had already moved back and was leaning on her desk.

She blinked. "What?"

"Let's go take a talk," he grinned. And before she could formulate an answer, he pulled her up and out of her chair and towards the door.

She found herself laughing. "Okay okay, just slow down a bit would ya."

Before she went out the door, she looked back at the mess of paper on her desk and sighed.

Ah well, it's not like she was getting anything accomplished anyway, and she knew she'd get even less accomplished if he had stuck around. Maybe a walk with Mwu would clear her head a bit.

* * *

AN: Hmm, what did you think he would suggest? XD 

I speak (er, write) with experience. I'm supposed to be working on a report right now, but I don't want to. So I'm procrastinating by writing this instead. Murrue's probably not as irresponsible as me though.

-runs off to write report (yeah right, more like to procrastinate some more)-


	3. Rain

** Title/theme: ** RAIN **  
Genre: ** General/angst**  
Summary: **_"Do you like the rain?"_

---

She looked up at the dark clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

_It's going to rain soon. _

---

"Mwu, do you like the rain?"

"Hmm…" he stroked his chin, "I never thought about that before. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged, "Just curious," and turned to the window looking out into the rainless void.

"I guess, I don't really care for it either way," he answered, "Because I'm always flying above the rain clouds. Although I suppose it makes landing more difficult." He looked at her, "Do you like the rain?"

She lowered her head and shook it the slightest bit. "Not really. It's just that, rain reminds me of things that I…Because it was raining…on _that_ day."

At her wistful expression, he didn't ask about the day it rained for her. Instead, he brightened and patted her on the back.

"In that case, I'll just be your sun and make sure it never rains for you again."

She laughed. "Thanks for the sentiment Mwu, but you can't control the weather you know."

"Oh?" he grinned, "But you forget, I'm the man who—"

"—makes the impossible possible. Yes I know," she rolled her eyes, "But I don't think even you can stop the rain."

"Hmm, no I guess not." He came closer and kissed the top of her head. "But I can try."

She smiled and leaned into his warm embrace. "Thanks Mwu."

---

She looked up into the grey sky and closed her eyes. For once, she was grateful for the rain, as its cold fingers brushed away her tears.

* * *

AN: It's raining outside again. I'm gonna try to alternate between serious/angst and humourous/happy chapters. 


	4. Morning

** Title/theme: ** MORNING **  
Genre: ** Humour**  
Summary: **_"__Come on sleepy head, time to get up." _

---

"Mwu…" she gently poked his sleeping figure

"Hmm?" came his drowsy response.

"Can you get off me now?"

"Mmmm." He didn't budge.

She sighed. "Come on sleepy head, time to get up. So can you please get off me?"

"No." He shifted his head slowly, lazily, and snuggled closer.

She grunted in frustration.

"Well, yes actually, I can," he mumbled after a moment.

She sighed in relief, and was about to thank him—

"—but I don't want to," he yawned and kissed her collarbone.

"Mwu! Get off!" She tried to push him off, but was annoyed to find that she couldn't. Groaning, she silently cursed the artificial gravity.

He was still, and for a moment, she thought he fell asleep again. That is, until she felt him smile and heard what sounded like muffled laughter.

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you."

His grin grew.

She heaved a sigh. "I'm going to be late for my shift because of you."

"Mmmmm," he lifted his head and kissed her neck, tightening his hold on her. "I'm sure they won't mind," he mumbled.

"Well if they do, I'm blaming you."

"I'm fine with that," he grinned, and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on Mwu, all joking aside. I have to get up now."

He pretended to go back to sleep again, though not very successfully.

She sighed again, "Your shift is in half an hour too. And didn't Murdoch threaten to do something if you're late again?"

At that, his eyes popped open and he jumped up, almost frantic as he threw his clothes on.

She couldn't help but giggle at the scene as she got up and stretched.

It was just another typical morning.

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AN: Don't ask. Sugar-induced giddiness. 


	5. Survival

** Title/theme: ** SURVIVAL **  
Genre: ** General  
**Summary: **_She was grateful that he said those words, because it meant that she didn't have to. _

--

"What?!" the young boy exclaimed.

Murrue winced inwardly. But she tried not to let it show.

"That's right, we're going to retrieve some of the ice, and we're going to need you guys to help out," she repeated as calmly as she could manage.

"But that's _Junius Seven_ out there!" protested Kira, "So many people have…died…there."

Murrue winced once again. "I know. We're not going to disturb the dead. We're just going to take what we need." She paused. "In order to survive."

This all felt so wrong to her, and she didn't want to do this any more than the students did. And she had been just as surprised and appalled as the teenagers were when Lieutenant La Flaga suggested the idea.

But she didn't blame him for coming up with such a plan. Because he was right, they didn't have much of a choice. They needed supplies, and they needed them now. So like it or not, they'd have to do this. After all, she was responsible for the lives of her crew.

Still, that didn't ease any of the guilt resulting from Kira's glare. She hated to make him and his friends do these things, especially considering how she was responsible for them being on this ship in the first place.

She sighed, and opened her mouth to reason with him. But Lieutenant La Flaga spoke up first.

"Look, we don't like the idea any more than you do. And nobody's crying out 'hurray water!'"

"Lieutenant…"

"But we're still alive, and we have to do whatever we can to _stay_ alive."

She looked uncertainly at the man standing beside her and smiled grimly. His words felt like no more than a superficial excuse. Yet, she couldn't criticize him for it. In fact, if anything, she was grateful that he said those words, because it meant that she didn't have to.

Kira stared at them silently for a moment longer, before making his way out of the bridge with his friends following.

Murrue let out a small sigh. She didn't think anyone would notice, so she was a bit startled to hear the Lieutenant's deep voice speaking up beside her.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," she gave him an uncertain smile, "Thanks."

She made to get up, intent on helping out, when his hand on her shoulder pushed her back into her chair.

"You stay here and direct things, _I_'ll go help them."

"T-Thanks." She sat down, glad that she didn't have to go out there and face the remnants of Junius Seven.

As she watched his tall figure exit the bridge, she couldn't help but feel very grateful that he was on board. She had lost count of the number of times he had saved them in the short time since they left Heliopolis. And somehow, she was getting more confident sitting in this chair, knowing that he was around to help.

She smiled to herself and clutched her pendant tightly. One of these days, she'd be sure to thank him properly.

* * *

AN: yeah the scene is kinda different than in the actual series, and the conversation and stuff, but I wrote this before rewatching the ep, and I liked how it turned out, so I don't want to change it. 


	6. 3 Things that Never Happened to Murrue

_Disclaimer: This one was inspired by "Three Things that Never Happened to Mwu La Fllaga" by Abbykat. I was amused with that story, and wanted to write my own for Murrue. _

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** Title/theme: ** THREE THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO MURRUE RAMIUS **  
Genre: ** General/Humour**  
Summary: **the 3 things that never happened to the Archangel Captain. 

--

Murrue Ramius gritted her teeth as the giant machine teetered and swayed, throwing the young boy across her lap.

"Get back!" she barked. He immediately retreated behind the pilot seat.

Blinking sweat out of her eyes and grimacing against the pain in her shoulder, she pushed the controls, steadying the Strike.

But the steadiness didn't last very long, as they were hit by something and fell backwards into a building. The cameras revealed a green mobile suit standing in front of them, its guns pointed at them.

"How can you move this thing with that OS?" the boy spoke up, eyes wide as he took in the controls.

"It's not finished," she answered quickly as she lowered the keyboard and started typing rapidly.

The boy gawked as her fingers moved over the keyboard in a dizzying pace.

"There, that should do it," she muttered as she shoved the keyboard out of the way and pushed on the controls. It responded quicker and more accurately, and it seemed that she had the machine fully under control as she charged at the ZAFT mobile suit.

--

"Hello there, I'm Mwu la Flaga, of the 7th mobile corp.," the handsome blond man saluted.

"Murrue Ramius, of the 8th orbital fleet," the brunette woman saluted back.

"Natarle Badgiruel, of the same division," the dark-haired woman beside her spoke up.

"Wow, that sure is an impressive machine," Mwu whistled as he tilted his head back to look at the towering mobile suit. "I saw it in combat earlier, who was the pilot?"

"Well…" Murrue looked up at the Strike, "Nobody was _assigned_ to pilot it…but, that was me a moment ago."

"_You_ were the pilot?" he asked, almost incredulously, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

He studied her up and down.

"You, you're a Coordinator, aren't you."

Murrue's eyes widened, how did…

Beside her, Natarle's face was one of shock.

"L-Lieutenant Ramius, is this true?"

She smiled at her sheepishly and nodded.

--------

"What? Skygrasper 2 is missing?"

"We lost her signal Ma'am."

Murrue balled her fist. Now what?

"How many hours until sunset?" she asked the crew.

"About two hours Ma'am," answered Miriallia.

"You're not thinking of looking for her are you?" Natarle spoke up, exasperated.

Murrue looked to Natarle. "But she's a member of the crew."

"We're in the middle of ZAFT territory!" Natarle argued back, "And we all need to rest in case we're attacked again."

Murrue bit her lip. Natarle had a very valid point. They were already undermanned and in trouble. It was just one person; she couldn't sacrifice everyone else on board.

"Alright everyone, go get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow," she sighed.

Little did she know that the missing girl was the princess of Orb, and that she would end up helping the Archangel later on.

----------

"Hey."

"Mmm" she smiled as he kissed her, "Finished your shift?"

He nodded, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Yup. So, anything interesting happened today?"

"Actually," she suddenly looked apprehensive. She untangled herself and faced him.

"I have something important to tell you."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, grinning at her winningly, willing her to continue.

"Mwu, I…" she bit her lip and lowered her head, as if not sure she wanted to continue.

"What is it?" he was suddenly getting worried at her solemn expression.

"Um, I, um, how do I say this…"

She looked up into his eyes and braced herself mentally.

"I'm pregnant."

The blond Lieutenant Commander's mouth hung open as he stared at her.

"W-Wha…H-How?"

Murrue raised an eyebrow at his question. "Uh, do I really need to explain it to you? ... "

Realising how stupid his question was, he cleared his throat. "I, I mean…I…but…uh…"

For once, Mwu la Flaga was speechless.

* * *

AN: first one was inspired by a Kenkoudaa flash animation; second one was random 'cause I can't think of anything, but just to make a point that Murrue will put her foot down when she deems it necessary; third one is my fave, and it's also randomness. 


	7. Question

**Title/theme:** QUESTION **  
Genre: **General  
**Summary: **_This wasn't the first time she was asked that question._

--

"This 'Mwu la Flaga', what is he to you?"

That caught her attention as she looked up across the infirmary. The room went silent as they waited for her reply.

This wasn't the first time she was asked that question. In fact, she had been asked that many times before. And each time, there was a moment when she didn't know how to answer.

At first, she would just smile politely, mumble something indistinguishable, and try to change the subject. But each subsequent time that question was asked, she found herself formulating a proper answer.

_"Mwu is…he was the man that I love."_

The first time she whispered that, she felt her heart tighten slightly, as if she was trying to stop herself from giving out a tightly guarded secret that only her heart knew.

The reactions to her reply varied. But mostly, people said "oh," and backed off quickly, thinking the subject was sensitive to her.

And to a degree, it was a sensitive subject. It wasn't something she wanted to openly tell people. And she was reluctant to say that sentence in past tense. But he wasn't there anymore. However, she was sure the love was still there, which was why she refused to say "loved", even if it made the sentence sound awkward.

As time went by, she found her heart tightened less and less when she said those words, until finally, her heart felt free when she said them. She found that she could talk about him and smile.

So then, why…Why was her heart tightening up again now?

She smiled politely and avoided eye-contact with anyone. In a low whisper, she answered.

"A comrade, someone irreplaceable."

* * *

AN: What am I doing writing for Density? I dunno, inspiration hit I guess. 


	8. I promise I'll be back: Promises

Oh hi, long time no see! I dunno if it's lack of fanfic inspiration or time, but wow I haven't updated this in over a year... Anyway, I Decided to do the 30 Memories at Livejournal challenge when I saw the list of themes. In particular, I saw theme #7 and thought "hey that fits perfectly for MxM! I can do something with that!"

So yeah, enjoy.

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**Title**: Promises  
**Theme(s)**: #7. I promise I'll be back...  
**Genre**: General/angst  
**Wordcount**: 215  
**Summary**: _She never asked how good he was at keeping promises_

-------

"_I promise I'll be back_, with Victory in hand."

That was what he said.

She remembered the warmth of his kiss afterwards, as she stared blankly out the window of the observation deck.

Her eyes misted over, and she quickly wiped the tears away. She didn't want to cry anymore.

Did he say that just to calm her nerves? Maybe.

She didn't have to say anything for him to see that she was feeling uneasy as she went to see him off. For a brief moment, she was thinking of that pilot who never came back to her. Her brows knitted as she worried that history might repeat itself.

So he smiled, held her in his arms, and assured her that he'll be back, his presence driving away her worries, if only for the moment.

Thinking back, she supposed it wasn't his fault for breaking his promise, and she found it hard to blame him for it. It just happened, so quickly that her mind barely had time to register anything. And then he was gone. And

She never asked how good he was at keeping promises, and she'd never asked him to promise her anything in the short time that they were together.

But the only promise she wanted him to keep, he didn't.


	9. perfect blue: The colour of love

This one's for 30 Kisses at Livejournal challenge. Some themes are weird and hard to write for... but this one popped out pretty easily

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**Title**: The Colour of Love  
**Theme**: #15. perfect blue**  
Genre**: General  
**Wordcount**: 100  
**Summary**: _"For her, love wasn't red."_

------

Red was the colour of love.

Or so she was told. For red was the colour of passion, of desire, of lust.

But red was also the colour of blood, blood shed on the battlefield as lives were cut short. A colour she was all too familiar with.

She didn't want to associate love with death. For her, love wasn't red.

When she asked for his opinion, he simply tilted her face toward his, smiling softly.

"What colour do you think it is?"

As she looked into the _perfect blue_ of his eyes, she saw it, the colour of love.

* * *

Yes, a drabble, at 100 words exactly! theme #19 is "red", and I suppose I could combine the 2 themes, but I wanna draw a picture for theme #19


	10. 夢と現の間: Dreams and Reality

For **30_kisses** theme at LJ  
**

* * *

Title**: Dreams and Reality  
**Theme**: #6. 夢と現の間 (the space between dream and reality)  
**Wordcount**: 327  
**Summary**: _Soon, the line between dream and reality began to blur_

-------

She couldn't sleep.

She hadn't been able to sleep since that day. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd see it. Like a broken reel, the scene of the Strike fading with the light would play over and over again in her mind.

So she stared into the darkness of the room blankly. She didn't cry. Her tears have run dry by now, and she couldn't cry anymore.

Crying wasn't going to bring him back anyway.

Her head hurt from the lack of sleep. Her body was protesting with fatigue, but her mind wouldn't rest. Maybe if she kept this up long enough, her mind would get tired too.

She closed her eyes again and tried to sleep in the lonely coldness, trying to remember the warmth of his embrace and the feel of his soft lips, trying to hold on to those memories, hoping to comfort herself and ease her mind, until she was finally able to slip into a dreamless slumber.

Sometimes she'd see him out of the corner of her eye, and could almost hear another pair of footsteps echo behind her. If she didn't turn around to check, she could believe that he was still here, following her just a step behind as she walked through the empty halls of the Archangel.

But when she would forget and turn around to talk to him, reality would come crashing back, and she'd realise she was only dreaming.

So she spent the days like this; she dreamt when she was awake, and reality haunted her while she slept. Soon, the line between dream and reality began to blur, and her conciousness swung from one to another, until she wasn't sure what was real and what was not anymore.

She wanted to keep dreaming, because only then was she able to see him. She'd let reality fade in order to meet him.

Because she was sure he was there, in _the space between dream and reality._


	11. 波音 & 揺り籠: Waves

For **30_kisses** theme at LJ  
**

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**

**Title**: Waves  
**Theme**: #29. 波音 (the sound of waves), #22. 揺り籠 (cradle)  
**Wordcount**: 857  
**Summary**: _She looked down at the mesmerizing blue waves. This wasn't her first time on the ocean, but she still wondered what was down there in its depths._

---

Murrue Ramius stretched as she walked towards the railing on the deck of the Archangel. The wind thread its fingers through her hair as she sighed and leaned on the railing.

The sun and fresh air felt so good compared to the stuffy bridge. Now that they've finally made it to the Red Sea, they had a brief moment of peace, and she decided to let the crew take turns to come outside for some fresh air.

She was glad for the moment of peace they had. But then frowned slightly; they were going through ZAFT territory, the hardest part was still ahead.

She shook her head to get rid of the gloomy thoughts. She'll deal with problems when they come, no use worrying about it now. Instead, she looked down at the mesmerizing blue waves. This wasn't her first time on the ocean, but she still wondered what was down there in its depths.

_Sea monsters?_ she thought back to the stories she heard in her youth, and laughed a little as she shook her mind free of the silly thought.

"What are you laughing at, Cap'n?" she heard a voice behind her and realised she wasn't alone. She turned around and saw Mwu La Flaga walking towards her, waving.

A little embarrassed, she turned back to the ocean. "Sea monsters," she replied.

"Sea monsters?" the blond commander leaned on the railing beside her, and looked at her curiously.

"Yeah, just wondering if there are any down there," she gestured towards the murky depths with one hand.

He laughed. "Perhaps. Why, are you scared of them?"

"Nah," she shook her head, "I think I'd be more scared of space monsters."

She wasn't scared of space. But sometimes its lonely vacuum made her feel uneasy, its endlessness made her feel so small and insignificant. She looked at the endless expanse of water ahead of her, well, the ocean made her feel small and insignificant as well, but she felt none of that uneasiness. The lulling waves felt so comforting, like a _cradle_, as the Archangel sailed ahead to unknown territory.

"Space monsters eh.." he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a moment, "Depends on your definition of 'monsters', but I think humans are the real space monsters," he muttered, almost to himself.

Then, as if realising this conversation would go somewhere too philosophical, he gave her a winning smile and told her, "Don't worry, I'll fend them off for you."

She returned his gaze and almost rolled her eyes. That had sounded so.. cliche. Yet she couldn't help but smile for some reason.

Ever since they landed on Earth, Commander La Flaga started spending a lot more time with her. Aside from their meetings to discuss battle plans and such, she found him following her around from time to time. She didn't mind, he was always interesting to be around and made for good company. And she found herself even starting to confide in him.

And, she did kind of think he was good-looking. Presently, she found herself thinking how blue his eyes were.

Neither of them said anything for the moment. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts again, probably something about humans being space monsters. _The sound of waves_ and the occasional seagull cry filled the silence.

She looked away and cleared her throat, as she realised she must've been staring.

"So, did you finish installing the new Sonar device?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

He gave her a thumbs-up. "All ready to go. The kid did a wonderful job modifying to the equipment to work with ours." He shook his head in wonder. "He's amazing, I don't know if it's because he's a Coordinator or if it's just him."

Murrue smiled weakly. She felt bad for asking Kira to do so much, especially since she saw how his psyche was changing and how much he was affected by all of this. But they really didn't have much of a choice. She found herself wondering if Kira blamed her for knocking him into the Strike that day.

As if he had heard her thoughts, he patted her shoulder. "I think it's a great idea to give the crew some time off and a chance to get some fresh air."

She smiled and nodded. He was trying to make her feel better, though she was sure he felt the same thing she did. She smiled, glad that she didn't have to do this alone.

He inhaled the salty air deeply and sighed. "Well, I better go back to the hanger now--" she felt a hint of disappointment at that "--before Murdoch finds out that I sneaked away." She rolled her eyes, it was just like him to do that.

He turned toward her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to steal a kiss. Instead, he gave her shoulder a final pat, another winning smile, and left without another word.

She watched as he disappeared into the ship, before turning back to the hypnotic waves, thinking of how its colour reminded her of his eyes.

* * *

Dunno, something random. The first stages of their relationship, rather cute. Was originally gonna do this as theme #29, but then #22 fit as well, so what the heck, I threw it in XD


	12. かえり道: Home

For **30_kisses** theme at LJ

* * *

**Title**: Home  
**Theme**: #20. かえり道 (the road home)  
**Wordcount**: 657  
**Setting**: AU, "Tomo to Kimi to Senjou de" GBA game universe.  
**Summary**: _Being with the military, he was transfered from place to place, so 'home' for him was wherever his bed was at the time._

_--------  
_

Mwu La Flaga sat down on the bed in the Captain's room, and leaned back against the wall.

"Is everything done?" he asked.

She laughed and ruffled his hair before sitting down beside him. "Yes, the peacetalks and negotiations should be more or less done by now."

"Finally!" he sighed and blew the bangs out of his eyes.

They hadn't had a chance to spend much time together lately. Murrue, being the Captain of the Archangel, had been busy meeting people and making arrangements for the ship and its crew. He had been pretty busy himself as well, helping with the repairs to his damaged Strike and to the ship itself.

The war was over with the destruction of the Genesis, and thanks to a warning from Natarle Badgiruel, the Archangel had destroyed the Dominion along with the leader of Blue Cosmos. But their work was not over yet; there was a lot of cleaning up to do.

"So, have we decided where to go?" he asked, pulling her towards him.

"Yeah," she rested her head on his shoulder, "Orb. They're letting us dock there, and is giving everyone a choice to stay and become its citizen."

She sighed happily and closed her eyes. "We can finally go home now," she murmured.

"Home..." he repeated. The word felt foreign in his mouth.

The only memory of 'home' he had was a cold and lonely one. All he could remember were those condescending and disapproving eyes, the stuffiness of strict tutors, and finally, those bright flames and smoke as his first and only real home was destroyed. After that, he didn't really have a place he could call 'home' anymore. He grew up being passed around from relative to relative, and living in the dormantories of boarding schools.

Then, being with the military, he was transfered from place to place, so 'home' for him was wherever his bed was at the time. But there was no warmth, no attachment to it, it was simply a temporary place to rest and recharge.

Ever since he came to the Archangel however, he had felt different.

At first, it was just like any other place of residence he'd been in. He was given a room, a bed, a place to rest and recharge. Just like any other places he'd been on assignments.

But something changed. he grew attached to this ship. Or perhaps he grew attached to its crew, something he rarely, if ever, allowed himself to do. He had learned long ago the pains of getting too attached to people, and then seeing them slip away.

Whatever the reason was, he felt a need to protect this ship that went beyond duty and responsibility. And when he was told he had to leave, he had felt such reluctance, and a need to return.

Was this what 'home' feels like?

Well, he did remember hearing someone say that "home is where the heart is". And his heart was...

He drew her closer to him. He knew the reason why the Archangel felt like home to him.

But they couldn't stay on the Archangel forever. Soon, he'd have to find a new home.

He was heading into unknown territory. He was no longer a soldier; the army he had been with and was part of for the most of his adult life had betrayed him, and he in turn, had burned down the bridges behind him.

To be honest, he was a little.. nervous. Civilian life was somewhat foreign to him. What will he do from now on? How can he survive without the adrenaline rush of flying? And what was his purpose in life now?

He stole a glance at the woman beside him and smiled. Well, there's one question answered.

He kissed her hair, making her smile, and shrugged mentally.

Thing would be different from now on, but he was fine with that, because he was _on the road home_.

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**Endnotes**: I always seem to write from Murrue's perspective XD Maybe it's 'cause I'm female and can relate better or something. So I'm trying to write more from Mwu's perspective.

And _Tomo to Kimi_ ending FTW!! =D


	13. アーン: say ahh

For **30_kisses** theme at LJ. not much time to write anymore since school started... but finished this one I started on.

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**Title**: Say 'Ahh'  
**Theme**: #18. 「アーン？」 ("say ahh....")  
**Rating**: G  
**Wordcount**: 792  
**Summary**: _That didn't go as he planned. Stupid wound._

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"Oh goodie, food, I was getting hungry," he sat up, grimacing slightly when his stomach wound complained.

He was grounded to the infirmary by the doctor after that incident at Mendel. Murrue had laughed and told him he wasn't "grounded", and that it was for his own good, but he thought of it as such, since he wasn't allowed to go where he wanted. So what if his wounds would heal faster if he didn't move around as much, it was quite boring being stuck here by himself most of the time.

By his request, people would come visit him occasionally; he said it's so that he won't go insane from boredom. He looked forward to Murrue's visits the most of course. His grin widened as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Here," she held up a forkful of meat to his mouth, "_Say 'ahh'..._"

He blinked, moving his head back instictively to inspect the morsel of food. He looked at her with a look that asked "what's this for". She just looked back, slightly confused at his hesitation and questioning look.

"What?" she asked, the fork still inches away from his mouth.

He laughed; he didn't expect her to actually feed him like this. But since she was doing it anyway...

He reached forward to bite at the meat on the fork, unfortunately, at the same moment, she retracted her hand and the fork, thinking he didn't want to eat at the moment. The chunk of meat ended up falling onto the blanket covering his lap.

Both of their gazes followed its trajectory and stared at it, before bursting out into laughter.

"You were supposed to say 'ahh' when I told you to," she told him as she reached for a napkin to clean up the mess.

"Oops," Mwu grimaced a bit, the laughing had made his wounds hurt. He grabbed the meat still lying on the blanket with his hand before she reached it, and popped it in his mouth.

"Mwu!" she exclaimed, about to tell him how unsanitary that was, but he just shrugged, making her sigh and shake her head.

She held up some food with the fork toward his mouth again. "Let's try again, okay."

He smiled and nodded. But instead of opening his mouth for her, he grabbed her wrist. She blinked in surprise, but thought he was probably just steadying her hand and the fork.

However, instead of bringing her hand and the fork toward his mouth as she expected, he gently pushed her hand out of the way, leaned forward, and captured her lips with his.

Caught by surprise, she dropped the fork and tried to pull away on instinct. But he wouldn't let her, as he leaned forward more to continue the kiss. It was all fine, except the movement brought about a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Oww," he broke away and made a face as he leaned back, feeling the throbbing pain in his stomach wound gradually dull.

"Are you alright?" her brows knitted as she looked at him with worry.

"Yeah." He felt his pride was more hurt than his body. That didn't go as he planned. Stupid wound.

When she looked unsure, he gave her a winning smile. "You weren't supposed to pull away, Murrue," he complained, sounding hurt.

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "Sorry, I was surprised."

He watched as she picked up the fork she dropped on his bed and the mess it made. "Can you do that again?"

"Do what?" she looked up.

"Feed me again." Well, maybe being wounded has its advantages...

She looked at him suspiciously. "I'm not falling for that again."

"Falling for what? For me?" he smiled innocently. She rolled her eyes, he knew exactly what she was talking about. But then she smiled, his antics were rather amusing; and she had to admit that she liked the kiss, and regretted that she pulled back out of surprise, and that it ended before she could kiss him back.

"I won't do anything, really," he assured her.

"Are you sure?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Of course. Unless, you want to feed me mouth to mouth," he winked, amused that she looked surprised at his suggestion, then embarrassed, then a little angry.

She dropped the fork on the tray and shoved it in front of him. "Here, you seem perfectly capable of eating by yourself."

He stared at the tray, disappointed, knowing he probably went too far, and she ran out of patience for his games. "I was just kidding--"

Murrue moved as if to stand up. He quickly grabbed her hand, begging her to stay.

"W-Wait! Don't go, Murrue, I was just kidding. I'll say 'ahh' this time!"


End file.
